My new secret: Matcha Green Tea

About 6 weeks ago I was sitting in a coffee shop with my friend and fellow blogger over at Charlotte's Nest, and she was telling me all about matcha green tea and how she didn't know why everyone wasn't getting on the bandwagon yet. Charlotte said since including it in her morning routine she felt like she had more energy throughout the whole day (I think the words "sustained buzz" may have been used), and she no longer suffered from those post-coffee caffeine slumps, as in fact she felt like she no longer needed the coffee. As someone who couldn't really function without a strong morning black coffee I was intrigued and came home to do some research of my own...

Within a few hours I'd ordered some of my very own match green tea powder from Amazon - I went for the Pure Chimp 50g pot - and eagerly awaited my delivery!

Charlotte had warned me about taste...I'm not going to beat around the bush - it's not the best. My personal description would be that it tastes like you imagine pond water to taste (surprisingly I've never actually drank pond water so I can't correlate this with real-life experience, but you get the picture!). When I first tried it I mixed it in hot water with a squeeze of honey. For me the honey didn't really disguise the taste...

So the next morning I decided to chuck it in with my morning cashew, date and raw cacao smoothie and I couldn't taste any difference to normal. Hallelujah! I'd found a way to include it in my morning routine without actually tasting it. And boy am I glad I did. I can honestly say hand-on-heart that the last 6-weeks I have had more energy than ever, I've given up coffee completely (aside from one black coffee after a two-night hen do, but I don't think that counts!), and I genuinely think the quality of my skin has improved too (I have also begun to take milk thistle tablets during this time to help my skin, but my hunch is that it's a combination of the two that's help it to improve).  

So what is it that makes matcha green tea able to provide that "sustained buzz"? Well, firstly it does contain caffeine as that's a natural ingredient of green tea. It was originally thought that it was the caffeine that was the energy-boosting ingredient, however researchers found that it was actually a combination of it's other natural ingredients too - mainly the amino acid L-theanine - that help to create a sense of relaxed alertness after consuming matcha green tea. The inclusion of L-theanine actually inhibits the negative side affects we get when drinking coffee. Learn more here. 

And it doesn't stop there. Matcha green tea is absolutely packed with antioxidants (way more than goji berries, blueberries, spinach and broccoli), and antioxidants are known fighters of infections, disease and the ageing process. It also contains a high level of chlorophyll which is great for detoxing the body. 

One thing that I can't report back on just yet is the weight loss claims. Many producers of matcha do state that it can help with weight loss as it supposedly boosts the metabolism and burns fat. Perhaps 6 weeks isn't enough time to see results, but I don't think my weight has changed much just yet...perhaps that will come later down the line! Nonetheless I will most definitely continue to include matcha in my routine every morning as I certainly feel more energised and able to focus than I previously did. And I'm definitely not missing that post-coffee slump! I also maintain that my skin quality has improved and am excited to see if it continues to do so - after all, the Japanese do have fantastic skin and they've been drinking it for thousands of years!

Match is definitely helping me to feel Beautifully Healthy and I love it so much that I've already ordered pot number 2 of the Pure Chimp powder!

Have you previously tried matcha or are you tempted to give it a go? I'd love to hear your thoughts :)

Love Lucy x